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Summary of the Sermon by Pastor Irwan Fransiskus, at Bethany International Service, on Sunday, 6 Aug 2017.

Prayer of Jabez

The prayer of Jabez teaches us how to depend on God and to call upon Him.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 – Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, “Because I bore him with pain.” Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested.

Jabez’s mother gave birth to him in pain. She named her son “Jabez”, which means “pain.” Perhaps she led a painful life, so she decided to name her son “pain” literally. Jabez’s prayer is made up of four parts. First, Jabez asks God to bless him. Second, he asks God to enlarge his territory or increase his responsibility. Third, he prays that God will be with him and stay close. Lastly, Jabez asks that God keep him from harm so that he will be free from pain.

The Bible mentions that he was an honourable man because of his prayer.

1. Jabez asked God to bless him.Jabez understood that the blessings of Abraham in Genesis 12:2 – ask the Lord to bless us to glorify Him. Jabez understood the purpose of God’s blessings. Jacob wrestled with an angel at the Jabbok river until he was blessed (Genesis 32:26).

Power, fame, wealth, beauty and health cannot satisfy us. We can learn from the life of famous people like Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Thierry Costa and Getulio Vargas. They did not find the meaning of life in their status, and these successful people ended up committing suicide.

2. Jabez prayed for God to enlarge his border so that God’s hands may be with Him.Jabez understood the prayer of Moses in Exodus 33:15 “If Your presence do not go with us, do not bring us from here”.

If the Lord is with us, His favour is also with us. It is very important to stay close to God and rely on His continued support and guidance throughout our life.

3. Jabez asked God to keep Him from harm. Jabez clearly knew and prayed specifically to the One who could protect him from evil and pain, 1 Chronicles 4:10 – Keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain. The Hebrew word for harm in this verse correlates with 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 – these are the examples of harm or “evil”.

How do we keep ourselves away from harm/evil? There are four examples of the word “harm/evil” in the Bible:

1. Idolatry – anything we love more than God is our idol. It could be our hobby, our occupation or even the love of chasing money (Ecclesiastes 5:9-10, Ephesians 5:5).

2. Sexual immorality is a sin we must avoid. We live in a world where society is experiencing moral degradation, where same sex marriage is legal in some countries. Genesis 49:2 records that Ruben slept with his stepmother (one of Jacob’s wives) and as a result Ruben was denied of his first-born birth right.

Lot and his daughters committed incest, and their two descendants from this relationship resulted in constant battles between the Israelites and the Moabites and Ammonites (Genesis 19:32).

3. Putting God to the test is to demand God to prove Himself to us in our own way. Pastor Mark Wolford, from the US State of Virginia, was bitten by a rattle snake and was killed during a church service for putting God to test. He was well-known for handling dangerous snakes in a test of faith. We need to practise godly discernment by not doing dangerous acts to demonstrate God’s protection upon us. When we view God through our doubt and demand something of Him as a way of determining whether or not He can be trusted, we are in danger of testing God.

In the Bible, there are examples of both acceptable and unacceptable kinds of testing God. It is acceptable to “test” God concerning tithes and offerings (we give because we have faith in Him), for example, but unacceptable when the test is to demand something from God to prove Himself to us because we lack faith in Him.

4. Grumbling is a harmful attitude and it is evil in the sight of God. Proverbs 20:19 It is that faith-inspired action of obedience that God loves. As seen in the example of Israel’s journey out of Egypt, they developed a habit of grumbling.

How do we value the love of Christ in our life? God has given us everything, even His precious blood on the Cross (John 3:16). There is no greater love than the love of Christ. Jacqueline Kennedy’s love letter to the British Ambassador to the US, was sold in an auction for a price for USD$190,000. The Bible is God’s love letter to us, and is priceless. Our food is to do the will of God and to accomplish His work, John 4:34. Let us work out our salvation and work for food that endures to eternal life (John 6:27).

At the end of the prayer of Jabez, it is clear that God approved of this faithful prayer by granting it. It is also important to see that Jabez was passionate in his plea to God: "He cried out to the God of Israel." God wants to hear that we need Him through passionate prayer.

The Summary of Sermon by Ps. Djohan Handojo at Bethany International Sevice on Sunday, 2 July 2017.

CHALLENGES FOR EVANGELISM

Pastor Djohan recently attended a conference at Wittenburg in Germany where the Reformation started by Martin Luther.

The conference discussed how to bring the Gospel for every person and challenges in sharing it. The gospel brings freedom and transforms life.

In sharing the gospel today, we faced several challenges :-

1. Ideology

People do not believe in God. 40% of the people in the Western world become atheist. They do not find God important in their lives.
2. Secularism

People look into the world and there is less emphasis of God in the society. In South East Asia, many people still have strong faith in God. We still find Christian schools, many Church services in the malls and hotels.

3. Moral

Today sexual disorder is considered normal and acceptable especially in the western world. The government in America and other western countries legalized the same-sex marriage. Even the schools are teaching it and educate the right to develop love and feelings beyond the gender which is gender disorientation.

(
James 1: 2-3) The world is constantly under temptation by the devil. Only the kingdom of God is unshakeable.

We are dealing with self centeredness. People have the tendency to become self centered. Some of us struggle with sin but Jesus is waiting for us to come back when we have gone astray in the world.
(2 Corinthians 5: 17-18) We are the new creation in Christ. It is important for us to walk in Christ every day. God will see us in a different way, God will see Christ who has redeemed us and see us as a new man or new woman in Christ.

When we are still living in the old self, the devil can attack us. When we live as a new man in Christ, the
devil cannot attack us. However, we can live a victorious life because God is in us.

(1 Corinthians 6 : 2 – 3) For us as believers, one day, we will reign and rule with Jesus. We will judge the world and the fallen angels.

Now, the Holy Spirit is in the world but one day the Holy Spirit will be taken away from the world. The world will turn into chaos.
(John 6:54- 55) Whoever eat of my flesh and drink of my blood remains in me, have the salvation and eternal life.

Did you know that life is a learning process? We are given the time to learn from mistakes from ourselves or someone else’s fault that we have a more mature life. Likewise, our spiritual life journey, when I started to be committed to persevere reading the Bible, I did it just to read the Bible but do not meditate it, nor pray for the Holy Spirit to guide the purpose of the Word of God that I read. As a result, a lot of misunderstanding, because I tended to use the word of God to justify a decision so that reading the Bible only as a form of spiritual discipline rather than as a sign get intimate with God. As a result, I did not experience that the word is the personal God Himself, who is the way, the truth and the life.

If we want to read and meditate on the word of God according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the word will never return in vain but will work something for the glory of God’s name. after reading it several times with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then I started to feel the word really is, the way, the truth and the life. He will talk when we are in distress or grief, when we are in fear and distress, when we are in sickness, rejected, when we began to get angry, or when we start deviating from the way, the truth, and the life.

Sometimes He speaks gently to comfort and often He speaks loudly to rebuke when we are wrong. He also gives peace when we are facing a crossroads or when we are in a situation to make a decision as a sign of God’s inclusion. He also reminds us to always have fellowship with God.

With the inclusion of God, then we will see an event from the Spirit’s standpoint that builds our faith and knows that in all things God works to bring in goodness to those who trust and put hope in Him only.

TODAY’S WORD: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, NKJV

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

TODAY’S VERSE TO REMEMBER:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

TODAY’S ACTION:

Have you experienced God’s word as the way, the truth and the life?

Have you read and meditate on God’s word correctly?

TODAY’S QUOTE:

God’s Word is a hammer that breaks all your problems and a mace that protects you.

The paradigm of prayer and how you pray will determine how long you can pray to God. Prayer is a personal relationship of a man with the Lord that he worships so that the way of prayer by everybody is different. Therefore, each person will have its own view of prayer. There is the view that prayer is something standard that must be done on the specific time, prayer must be done in log duration, if not it will be subject to God’s wrath. Consequently, prayer becomes a habit that is spoken in the mouth while the heart and mind may wander around while praying. There are also those who tend to repeatedly say a prayer, so it is simply a recitation. Prayer becomes inflexible with situation and gradually people will become bored and tired, even become stressful when approaching ‘praying’ time.

God’s word says that Jesus was able to pray to the Father the whole night. It teaches us that there is something about prayer that Jesus performed and His viewpoint about the prayer itself. The Lord Jesus is 100% human and 100% God. When Jesus prayed, His personal of 100% God (Spirit) played the role fully. As it is said that God is Spirit: and those who want to worship Him, let them worship Him in Spirit and in truth (holiness). That was what made Jesus viewed a communion with the Spirit of God as something holy and sacred, because a communion with a Personal of the holy God, then Jesus will get the power and the inclusion of God so that Jesus performed His prayer which was not routine or demonstration of holiness but as a proof that He and God are one Spirit and inseparable.

When we view prayer as a personal relationship with God and an expression that we need God’s presence in life, then we too will worship Him in Spirit and truth, it will be the breath of life of the believers, and we do not need the ‘text book prayer’ anymore but we need the Holy Spirit in our hearts and the rest will flow and God’s Spirit inside us.

TODAY’S WORD: Matthew 6:5-15, NKJV

The Model Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

TODAY’S VERSE TO REMEMBER:

“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

TODAY’S ACTION:

Pray not because you have a problem or routines, but pray because you need God in your life.

TODAY’S QUOTE:

Our prayer time is not a guarantee that our prayers are qualified but prayer in Spirit and truth will make us one with God and that is the essence of a prayer.

Excerpt from the Sermon by Pastor Stanley Hofwijks
Bethany International Service,
Sunday, 21 June 2015VICTORIOUS FAITH
How can we be victorious in the Kingdom of God? We are destined to be winners and not losers in Christ. We have to refuse to be defeated in any battle, not to be defeated in our circumstances. The Bible teaches us how to do things the way the Lord wants, and our Father will help us live a victorious life. Open our hearts for the anointing of the Lord in order to win.

Matthew 8:5-13 – “When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.”

There must be certain things we should do to be known by God. It is not significant enough to be known by men. The best thing is that our Father should know who we are. This is more than everything – to be very well favored by the Lord. How can the Lord say to us, “well done my child”? Applause and recognition from people are worthless. How can we be under the heavy anointing of the Holy Spirit until He put words into our mouths?

What is God saying about us? It may be time for us to grow spiritually. The centurion captured the attention of Jesus because his qualities –
• He was a man of Prayer
• He was a man of Love
• He was a man of Compassion
• He was a man of Humility
• He was a man of Authority

The centurion approached Jesus on behalf of his servant, not for his own need. The centurion wanted to intercede, bringing the needs of another person. His need was his servant’s healing. The centurion came to the Lord with a prayerful request that moved the heart of God. Prayer works and it helps. The devil trembles when Christians are on bended knees. Invest our time in prayer – prayer is an investment in the Kingdom of God. Pray in your heart and mind (silent prayer). Prayer brings a closer relationship with Christ. Things happen when we pray. If we don’t pray, we are saying we can do things with our own strength. Prayer is a must for every believer.

The best way to practice love is to love the most difficult person; it can be the person closest to you. It can be challenging to love our spouse all the days of our life. The love of Christ must flow out, through us, especially to our family members. We should have godly love for our neighbours, for our fellow men in order to be able to pray for them. Without the love of Christ in our heart, it is impossible to touch the heart of God. Unbelievers will know the love of God by our love for one another. Everybody needs the love of Christ, to be accepted and to be a part of a community. Love is a wonderful thing.

This centurion had a heart of compassion for his servant. He felt the pain of his servant; he felt the pain of people in need. This centurion is a powerful example of getting God’s attention by compassion. We too should ask the Lord to fill our heart with His compassion. Jesus was most willing to come and heal the centurion’s servant. God is moved by compassion, mercy and grace. The cross is the ultimate proof of God’s compassion for His creations. Jesus wants to destroy the works of the devil in our life.

The centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” The centurion understood the meaning of humility and the authority of Jesus. How much more powerful will it be when Jesus just speaks a word into our situation? This centurion was willing to be under Jesus’s authority, he accepted the sovereignty of Christ. When the Lord speaks, it will definitely come to pass. Faith works before miracles take place. Have faith in God to see the works of Christ. This centurion is a great example for all of us. This man was a man of love, faith, prayer, authority and humility.

16 And he told them this parable:“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!This very night your life will be demanded from you.Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

TODAY’S BIBLE READING:

Morning: Luke 21:20-38, NIV

20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies,you will know that its desolation is near.21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.22 For this is the time of punishmentin fulfillmentof all that has been written.23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampledon by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloudwith power and great glory.28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29 He told them this parable:“Look at the fig tree and all the trees.30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of Godis near.

32 “Truly I tell you, this generationwill certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life,and that day will close on you suddenlylike a trap.35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.36 Be always on the watch, and praythat you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple,and each evening he went outto spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.

Night: 1 Kings 10-11, NIV

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

10 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”

10 And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor

14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites.8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Solomon’s Adversaries

14 Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. 16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father.18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.

19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children.

21 While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”

22 “What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh asked.

“Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but do let me go!”

23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 When David destroyed Zobah’s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus, where they settled and took control. 25 Rezon was Israel’s adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.

Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father.28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.

29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

34 “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

Solomon’s Death

41 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 43 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

TODAY’S INSPIRATION
Many people who have a lot of money, but living the life carelessly, do not have pattern, and do not have plan. They are simply living, eating, drinking and partying, only to satisfy the desire of the flesh. God’s word today records the parable of the rich and fool who accumulate wealth for its own indulgent and ultimately everything is useless because he himself lose his life.

While some people who are living carelessly by lounging and stand idly but dream big and expect wealth falling from the sky. The Word of God says in Proverbs 6:6: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” There are also people who are living full of worries, every time spend on worrying about what they will eat, drink wear, so they work in fear, toiling from morning until morning again in order to make a lot of money so it gives a sense of security that they will not be lack of money, as Jesus says in Matthew 6:31, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” But the word of God says everything is useless because the Lord grants sleep to those he loves. (Psalm 127:1-2).

But listen to God’s word in John 10:10 God says that I have come that you may have life in abundance and fullness. A blessed life because God suffice, preserve, defend, different to make our lives a life reflecting the glory of God that is always shine as light and salt of the world.

TODAY’S VERSE TO REMEMBER:

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

TODAY’S ACTION:

Entrust your life to the Lord, because He is the source of blessings in abundance.

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?Can such faith save them?15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds,and I will show you my faithby my deeds.19 You believe that there is one God.Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together,and his faith was made complete by what he did.23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”and he was called God’s friend.24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Today’s Inspiration

We may be confused with this things. The Book of Romans says that we are being made righteous by faith and not conduct. On the contrary, James says that faith without action is dead. There are also those who use this as a proof that the Bible is not false-proof.

When we are facing the statements of the Bible that seem to be opposing each other, we should try to make peace between them. It means that we should not see it first hand as opposition, but we need to look at it as something that completes each other. Then, how does faith and conducts complete each other?

Let’s just say that there was a married woman, and she was pregnant. Would she just relax and did nothing, just waiting for the baby to be born? Of course not right? Pregnancy means the woman would change her diet, her way of life, and pattern of her sleep. All of those patterns will change since she knew her pregnancy. The mother will change and adapt herself with pregnancy in order to prepare the deliverance of the baby.

Faithful man is not so different as well compared to the pregnant woman. We are pregnant with the seeds of the Word of God, the seeds of God’s promise. Like a pregnant woman, it would be impossible for us to just idling around and relax in waiting passively the fulfilment of the promise; that as if the fulfilment would just come down from the heavens. Faith is like pregnancy that will change our patters of life. If we do not care and nurture it with the right pattern, that seed will fail, and we will not be able to see the fulfilment of God’s promise. On the contrary if the faiths enchanted us so bad to live like as if the promise is already at our hands, we will live our lives in a more serious manner. Faith is proved through actual acts. Our acts are the proof of our faith. Just acting without confession will makes the person to be a poor and helpless one.

And so, faith must be completed with conducts and that act is the proof of our faith.

Today’s Reflection

Do you have faith in Lord Jesus Christ? What can you do as the proof of your faith?

How can your conducts affect other people’s faith?

Today’s Action

Do you have faith? Do not just sit around – act now!

Today’s Word

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” [James 2:26, NIV]